Customer Reviews

Going On Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since this book is autobiographical, I find that it's easier to grasp the every-day truth of the statements than in his other books. I can see more easily how they might apply to my life.

I say this book is like a guidebook to the spiritual journey because it feels like a travelogue. Imagine the spiritual Journey is like a trip to New York. You've always wanted to visit New York, perhaps live there, but until that day you can only dream. This book would then read like "When I first arrived in New York I didn't understand the subway system, the maps were confusing and I always got lost, but as I travelled more, I grew accustomed to them, the different colored lines on the map began to make sense. I eventually learned how to get from my home in Park Slope to Greenwich Village, the Empire State Building, and Central Park...." Then one day when you visit New York you'll feel okay if you don't understand the subway system. It validates your experience. Well, this book validates my experience.

I haven't done much meditating, nor have I ever been to a therapist. I do, however, notice my thoughts from time to time, my state of mind, my emotional state, and I consider them, I try to examine them somewhat objectively, and I notice their impact on my life. What this book does (as did After the Ecstasy the Laundry by Jack Kornfield) is make a spiritual life something that happens every day, not something that happens high in the mountains, or locked away in a retreat.

Now when I have certain thoughts, or notice certain thoughts and states of mind, I have a sense of normality. A sense that this is the proper path, and that I am progressing. A sense that I can achieve a state of Going On Being without locking myself away in a Monestary for several years. That I can reclaim a sense of connectedness and support in my every day life.

More than the previous two books, I felt the subject matter was accessable. His story is almost a parable, the parable of his own life if you will. This isn't a straight narrative however, and as in his other books he sprinkles his search with academic research, zen stories, the stories of his patients, and this time, his mentors, who include Ram Dass and Jack Kornfield.

The more the spiritual journey is made human to me, the more I realize I am a spiritual person. This book does a lot to humanize the spiritual path, make the concept of enlightenment accessible. While no biography is a substitute for a life, and no guidebook is a substitute for visiting a city, reading books of this nature can go a long way towards understanding, and making your experience real.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the spiritual journey, psychology, meditation, eastern philsophy, and life.

...

This is Epstein's third book on the growing rapprochement between traditional Buddhist thought and western psychology. It's his most personal book, and for me it's his best. His first two -- "Thoughts Without A Thinker" and "Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart" -- are more detailed and thorough, but the personal themes running through "Going On Being" make the subject matter more accessible. Part of the difficulty in writing about the experience of the Buddhist path is that there is an inherently ineffable quality to the knowledge gained. One cannot hit the target by aiming directly at it. By expressing the ideas of his first two books more simply, and by illustrating those ideas with stories from his own life, Epstein facilitates understanding and stimulates thought in a way that more detailed explication might not.

I can see how some readers would not read and evaluate this book as highly as I do. Epstein's personal approach won't resonate with everyone. But when it does it works well, and I suspect it will resonate often and deeply enough with most readers interested in the subject matter to make this book an enjoyable and valuable read.

Epstein's previous two books were focused on the practical application of Buddhist insights to psychology, and specifically to the psychotherapeutic relationship. By contrast, this is a highly personal account of Epstein's own experience as a student of meditation, and of the various teachers he has studied with over the years. The "guru" relationship is more central to Buddhist practices than most Westerners are used to (or comfortable with), but Epstein has been fortunate in his teachers, and this book shows how liberating the guidance of a good teacher can be. I also felt that he did a good job of conveying the joys of a meditation practice: too many guidebooks, I feel, give the impression that it's a constant uphill struggle. Developing mindfulness isn't a snap, of course, but the benefits are genuine and immediate, and that comes across well here. It does help in reading this book to have a basic understanding of Buddhist principles and practices -- he doesn't go into much depth about them -- but you don't have to be an expert to appreciate what he's talking about. This is less a "how to" and more a "how it happened to me," and in those terms I feel it's excellent.

Dr. Epstein's sincerity is disarming, and the read is slippery quick, but he repeatedly introduces interesting perspectives - and drops them after little more than a cursory pass. His effort would have made a very acceptable magazine article. Since he chose, or was not prepared, to take any real risks, this should probably be a popular book. If you're satisfied with a little fascination, it will do fine. But if you use your time seeking to be challenged, let this one just go on being.

...this book puts theory into the context of practice (and living). It's one of the most grounded books on Buddhism and psychotherapy I've ever read. Smart and pragmatic and worthwhile.

For those readers out there searching for an avenue to make incorporating Buddhism and psychotherapy together a reality, here is your book. From his rusty beginnings at the Naropa Institute in Colorado (Buddhist University) in 1974, he reflects how he knew he was at last at home. Here he met such people as Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, and Ram Dass, just to name a few. Though he still considered Gestalt therapy to be a sound approach in terms of helping those in need out, he was attracted especially to Buddhist Vipassana meditation while at the Institute. He now proposes various forms of meditation to his patients in his psychoanalytical practice. I don't want to tell the whole story, but needless to say he has found a way to bring together Gestalt therapy and Buddhism quite well. Epstein's writing style is somewhat consoling and encouraging here. I haven't read any of his other works, but I can categorically say I got pleasure from this one from top to bottom. Honest and hopeful, here lies a book all Buddhist therapists have been waiting for. Enjoy!

Mark Epstien shows himself to be an excellent communicator of eastern philosophy to western ears. This was a life changing book. I also recommend his "Thoughts Without a Thinker".

I think this book succeeds in what the author set out for it-an introduction to buddhism and its practice and the effect it has had on the authors life. It certainly kindled my interest in the subject and was successful in integrating buddhist meditation and western psychoanalytic thought for the layman. I read it in one sitting and got exactly what I expected from a book of this scope and size.

Going on Being is a brilliant book. Its writing style is highly congruent with it's premise, that of leaving you alone to have your own experience. Instead of spoon-feeding its agenda, the author shows deep respect for your autonomy by writing in a less-is-more way. This also is the way of a psychoanalyst and a quality Buddhist teacher. If you are new to Buddhism and psychoanalysis you may want more information, for which the critical reviewer seems to be expressing a need.
Relating Winnicott to Buddhism gave me an entirely new understanding of this important child psychoanalyst. Mark shares personal experiences, giving humanity to what could be highly intellectualized material. But again, by consciously limiting the amount and degree of intimate information about himself, he shows respect for his reader by not intruding into their personal psychic space. There is much more to be said about this book that has gems on every page.

Epstein's book is about the process of personal change blending the perspective and praxis of Buddhism (especially meditation) with the practice of a Freudian psychotherapist (which he is). His target audience seems to be spiritually interested, but not specifically on the topic educated people.

Despite this looks like a very promising approach the book does not live up to such expectations.

First, Epstein's personal writing style is unpleasant to read. The author's self-absorbed writing style stressing the word "I" may get on your nerves pretty soon. All the anecdotes of his life, all written from his perspective makes it often difficult to absorb them analytically. Also the way Epstein structured his arguments is not complicated but confusing. But this may be just a personal preference; other reader may actually like his style.

The book was for me a bad compromise between broadness and deepness, insights and practical advise. Epstein just touches a topic by illustrating it by his anecdotes, even includes some explanations - deductive and inductive - but does not go really into it. The result is that the reader gets an "Aha" effect, but lacks in insight, reasoning, and understanding to feel sufficient enough to accept the point. This effect is quite reinforced by the fact that the author intents to marry two major related but though different subjects and thus consequently has to flip between both worlds, which is understandably not easy.

The book gets credit because of the topic itself. The author makes clear the benefits of Buddhism and its practices for our western world. His attempt to marry western psychoanalytic and eastern philosophy seems to me a very valuable one.

The above may look like I would have been better of with a school book about Buddhism and Psychotherapy, but I actually looked exactly for an approach like described in the first paragraph. Epstein's sources and his knowledge seems profound, it is just a little sad that he does not structure and communicate it better than he does in this book.